How Far Would You Go?
by SeaSpectre160
Summary: Sara confronts Leonard over his decision to walk into Mick's cage. Seventh in 'Long Way Home'. Captain Canary Awards 2016 Nominee for Best Short One-Shot!


**Just a little scene set between 'Progeny' and 'The Magnificent Eight'. This will be referenced in 'Dear Lisa' Chapter 11 this Thursday.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legends of Tomorrow.**

 **WORD COUNT: 1103**

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"You fucking idiot."

Those were the first words Leonard Snart heard that morning. He'd just finished writing an entry in his journal and had gotten up to get some breakfast, only to be blocked by one very angry Sara Lance. She was leaning on the wall across from his door; she must have been waiting for him to come out.

"Good morning to you, too."

She scowled at him. "Exactly what part of 'Stop being an ass and go deal with it' means 'Walk into Mick's cell and propose a cage match'?"

Ah. So that was what she meant. He thought the answer was fairly obvious. "The 'deal with it' part."

Sara looked sorely tempted to add to his collection of fresh bruises. "Do you two always 'deal' with your disagreements this way?"

Leonard shrugged, instantly regretting it when his sore muscles protested. "Pretty much."

She frowned even more deeply. "You didn't even go to the Med Bay last night, did you?" She leaned to the side to peer past him, and Leonard could tell, from the reaction on her face, the exact moment when she spotted the bloody towel on his desk. She pinned him with a deadly stare. "Med Bay. _Now_. I _will_ drag you there if I have to."

Knowing perfectly well that the ex-assassin could manage it even when he was in top shape, Leonard decided to just go with it and follow her, step by painful step, to the ship's infirmary. She didn't need to prompt him to sit down on the nearest bed; he was sore and tired enough that lying down felt like the greatest idea in the world. Gideon's blue light scanned him immediately. "Mr. Snart has suffered severe bruising, pulled muscles, and a cracked rib, but no life-threatening injuries. I can reduce the swelling and repair the bone, but it will take at least half an hour."

Leonard sighed and gingerly laid down, hoping he'd at least be able to see out of both eyes when the AI was done. "Rip have an idea of what we're going to do?" he asked Sara, who didn't seem to be interested in leaving anytime soon.

Sure enough, she sighed and made herself comfortable in a chair next to him. "He's holed up in his office again, talking with Mick. These Hunters seem to have both of them pretty nervous."

"That's a first," Leonard muttered, wincing. He could _feel_ the pointed ache in his chest, probably the healing rib. "The Mick I knew didn't get scared, and I didn't think this new one could, either."

"Yet you thought you could walk into his cell and come out alive?"

The question brought him up short. Because Leonard _hadn't_ expected to walk out of the cage alive. He hadn't exactly been eager to die, but he'd decided to do whatever he had to in order to protect his sister.

He'd apparently been silent for too long, because Sara sat up and glared at him. " _Tell me_ you weren't planning to die in that fight."

Leonard closed his eyes, sighing. "He was going to go after Lisa," he breathed, "He was going to kill my sister and make me watch. If I died, there would be no point."

Sara was very quiet, then: "Do you really think that would've worked? Mick was angry at all of us. Do you think he would've let us all go if you let him kill you?"

She was honestly asking, not being sarcastic or rhetorical. "…I hoped so. I was mostly thinking about Lisa. He's got a lot of good memories of her, and she's never done anything to get him mad. If Mick only wanted to kill her to hurt me, then he couldn't do that if I was already dead."

"You'd die to protect her." She didn't sound surprised or questioning. It was a statement of fact.

Leonard opened his eyes to look at her. "How far would you go?" he asked, "What would you do for your sister? For your mother and father?"

Sara's reply was immediate and certain. "Whatever it took to protect them. Even if Dad and Laurel can protect themselves. They would do no less for me."

"Then you know why I did it."

Sara looked back at him. "I guess I do. Doesn't mean I'm not still mad." She reached out and gently touched his shoulder. Leonard initially tensed, as he always did on reflex when someone who wasn't his sister touched him, but found himself relaxing more quickly than he was used to, even after recognising that the touch wasn't meant to hurt. "We're a team, Leonard. We look after and each other and _all_ the people we care about. We would've had your back if Lisa was ever in danger. So trust us next time, instead of risking it all on your own."

Leonard wasn't sure how to respond. He wasn't used to having backup other than Lisa and Mick. He'd had crew members working with him, but he'd never fully trusted them to watch his back. But here Sara was saying that she and the others would go to war for him and his sister. It was new.

When the silence got too awkward, Sara stood. "I'll go see if Kendra's up for a spar. Not like there's anything else to do until Rip comes up with a plan." Both shared a grimace at the thought of Rip's usual plans. She turned to leave the room, but Leonard, on some insane, spur-of-the-moment thought, reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Wait." She froze at the contact. Leonard had to come up with something to say, since he hadn't actually thought of it when he'd acted. It wasn't like him, and he knew it. "…Thanks."

Leonard himself wasn't sure what he was thanking her for. For actually caring about whether or not he'd gotten his injuries treated? For promising to stand by him? For understanding his reasons for nearly letting Mick kill him?

Whether she knew (or thought she knew) what it was for or not, she smiled. "You're welcome, Leonard." Her eyes dropped down to their joined hands; he snapped his fingers back and watched as she walked out of the Med Bay, wondering why the contact had left his hands tingling.

THE END

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 **So yeah, just a little bit of bonding between the two, since we don't get any solid Captain Canary hints in canon between 'Progeny' and 'Destiny'. As I said in the first chapter notes of 'Dear Lisa', I have issues with how sporadic it felt, and I feel there should have been more buildup to Len's confession. Everything Captain Canary in 'Destiny' just felt rushed, like they were squeezing it all in at the last second.**


End file.
